


Stand by you

by Dreamystory



Category: His Dark Materials (TV)
Genre: Family Angst, Iorek being protective of Lee, Lee's father, Lee's mother (mentioned), Light Angst, Lyra Silvertongue (mentioned), references to Lee's childhood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:42:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29976171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamystory/pseuds/Dreamystory
Summary: A very unpleasant encounter between an armored bear and a man
Kudos: 2





	Stand by you

The blizzard wasn't going to stop anytime soon.

Lee Scoresby, in all his young hardcore Texan glory, realized this as he clung to the railing with one gloved hand and with the other he kept his hat firmly anchored to his dark skull, jet black hair slapping his face in rhythm of the unbridled wind that made the airship rise and fall. Up and down, up and down. At times he felt himself being lifted upwards, others had to force himself on his knees to avoid tumbling to the floor. Sometimes the wind blew them to the right, sometimes to the left.

"We're losin' altitude!" in the roar of the wind, Hester's voice rang crystal clear in his ears. His dæmon, the arctic hare, was trying to balance on her legs so as not to fall overboard.

"Lee, drop the weights! We gotta get back above the clouds!" 

"Dontcha say?" Lee snarled, slowly letting go of the railing from his wet white palm, knuckles sore from so much squeezing the iron bar that separated him from a chasm of fabric towards an inconvenient fall. He dropped his hat under a cloth and barely made his way to aboard the airship, where what he would call anchors were. "watch out ... watch out!" shrieked Hester, as the airship had a new jolt dictated by a more impetuous and violent current towards those innocent travelers. 

"Goddamit! Calm down, i got this!" leaning his chest against the railing on the opposite side - the iron pressed against his diaphragm, and for a moment he found it difficult to breathe correctly without losing his balance - he reached out to the small ropes that tied the bags to let go in order to relaunch and fly over the storm. You're almost there ... you're almost there-

And then he slipped.

For a moment he felt emptiness under his boots as the airship leapt upward, and he truly believed he was falling. In a panic he clung to the railing, or rather ... he searched frantically for it with his hands, big eyes and breath suddenly cut off by a gasp. He thought he heard Hester scream before something solid grabbed him firmly by the jacket on his back, like a kitten. The breath of that something tickled his back laboredly as his breath was and a wet nose stood out among all that cold. But above all a guttural groan of who was withdrawing him on board, far from certain death and sitting on the floor of the airship. Lee landed seated, hands on the ground at his hips: He let his head fall back, catching his breath and letting his lungs work to get some air after that fright. When he looked up, Iorek's dark and lightning eyes were clouded by the mist that passed and examined him: all three were soaked, Lee and Hester were cold.

"Are you alright?" the bear's deep, raspy voice vibrated beneath him. Lee hastened to nod, then pointing up "Iorek, old friend, if you could settle that rope ..." he asked "I can't get up there. I hold the rudder."

"Say no more." lifting up on his back legs, Iorek rested his paws on the intricate metal structure, craning his neck to grab the rope and pull it down to hold it tight as Lee struggled to get up to tie it. The group was on the verge of exhaustion, on the verge of endurance after weeks of traveling to the nearest town to refuel and leave immediately. But all those weeks spent there in the air had exhausted them in every sense, even Iorek who was normally ready for any challenge. Only then did the wind pace settle down and not flap them here and there like maracas, and when it finally stopped howling Lee could breathe a sigh of relief and let himself go back to the floor, breathing deeply. "Averted danger, soldiers. Rest." he brought his fingers to his temple in a military salute, his hand dropped to the ground with a thud and he could clearly see Hester rolling her eyes from beyond Iorek, intent on shaking off his rain drops on his white mantle. "you're an idiot, Lee." said the dæmon, shaking his head firmly as he hopped beside him. "we could've flown over the storm, ya daredevil! But you gotta always go rogue! Hey, jerkface! Are you listenin'?!"

 _Blah, blah, blah._ Lee moved his hand with sooo much maturity and intellect mimicking the beak of a goose, opening and closing his fingers as if he were mocking Hester. The arctic hare looked at her human indignant, and that proud look made Iorek chuckle softly, though it sounded more like a snort than a laugh.

_THUD!_

" ** _OUCH!"_**

"THERE YA GO, THICK SKULL!"

And _dear, sweet_ Hester, who didn't shine in patience especially towards Lee, had kicked him on the jaw with her hindquarters. The aeronaut was intent on massaging his 'injured' jaw with an accusatory look at his dæmon. "THAT MAKES YOU A THICK SKULL TOO!" he screeched, Hester replied by sticking her tongue out at which he let out a dramatic gasp "how dare-"

It was a snort from Iorek that interrupted a discussion so cultured and so not childish halfway through until a later date. "I hate to interrupt." _No,_ that sardonic sparkle in his eyes said the opposite. "but where are we heading?" 

"there's a map near you, bring it here please." They both always made sure to add a 'please' at the end of each sentence.

The map in question was old and scruffy for the times, but it was the very first map she had ever used in his travels and she had never betrayed him to this day. He trusted that map as he trusted the altimeter, the solidity under his shoes, and the strength of his vehicle (and his own strength). With the help of those delicate teeth yet able to bite a limb and tear it as if it were made of nothing, Iorek pulled the paper collected on itself from one of the drawers and gently placed it on the floor. Slipping on a glove, Lee opened it, blocking it at the sides with his free hand while Iorek and Hester blocked it at the antipodes.

He grabbed a pencil and placed it between his teeth naturally as he slipped the mini compass out of his pocket to check the direction, opening it with his thumb and wiping off the blur on the small slide, then snapping his tongue against his palate. "...'Kay : We're north -east o' Beringland, ten thousand leagues above sea level ... Iorek, can ya tell me what wind it is? 

"North wind."

"Predictable." mumbled Lee, taking the pen from his teeth and hooking it behind his ear to point out a point on the map "The wind was nearly 300 kilometers per hour, so we moved faster forward. Now we're ... here." he pointed to a point on the map, then sliding his finger up "let's go straight like this, we'll stop here to refuel." and with his pen he drew an x just below the name of the capital. "are we all 'n agreement?"

Nobody dared to argue with Lee when he spoke, especially when it came to directions in the air. If they found themselves on the ground, Iorek was the expert. But in the clouds? oh, _no one_ dared to challenge Lee. Hester nodded, Iorek nodded as he laid the protective sheet around the open parts of the airship so as not to let in too cold "try not to catch a cold." he said firmly, then laid down beside them as Lee rolled a blanket over his shoulders, Hester tucked into his jacket. "our stay would lengthen with you cooled." 

"fit as a fiddle, ol 'fella." Lee said, adjusting his hat "our immune system's steel."

"you are human, all humans can catch a cold." ruled the Panserbjørn.

"and have you ever caught a cold, Iorek?"

"No."

Of course not, Iorek was the living embodiment of fit as a fiddle. Never since he had known him Lee and Hester had they ever seen him curled up and shivering in fever.

"well, we've been sick several times, "said Hester.

Once at seventeen he had a fever; a strong, terrible, scalding fever in his forehead, resilient in his bones and painful in his limbs. He had not been able to get up, to sleep ... he had risked dying that time.

And his father? His father hadn't come once to check on how he was doing. Jacob Scoresby.

Lee shivered seeing clearly those dark eyes and those dark circles, those sunken cheeks and that hunched body and those big hands ready to slap Lee on the cheek at any moment, to hit him with a stick. It was after that fever that Lee had waited to recover and then had left home, leaving behind that excuse of a father he had found in this life.

"Iorek."

"hm?"

"how was your father?"

"My mother raised me, I only rarely saw my father." he replied, resting his head on his paws and observing Lee.

"and how was she?"

"she was good, but she let me find my independence." Iorek answered "if I fell into the water, she came to make sure I didn't fall. But she didn't help me out, she let me find a way out." Lee let out a sigh, leaning against the warm side of his friend "maybe my father's beatin' helped. They made me independent."

"Did your father hit you?"

A bitter laugh came from his mouth "yep."

If Iorek was feeling anger at Lee's father, he didn't show it. He just he just grumbled a "sleep, Lee. You need it."

They all needed it after such an adventure and weeks of travel, so Lee didn't protest.

* * *

Galloway was a silent and very unwelcoming city, especially for foreigners like them. Sure, seeing a man with his dæmon hare and a white bear beside him was bizarre for the small town. Unlike Trollesund, here it populated with children who tried to approach curiously. Particularly a little girl had approached, but she had retreated as soon as she had seen Iorek. This little girl had been so different from Lyra, she hadn't had the slightest fear of Iorek. In fact, when they first met she had called him a coward.

_Lyra Silvertongue._

That trip was to guarantee her protection, adequate protection.

Lee had heard of a legend about a knife called _Æsahaettr._

If it was going to protect her, then they had to find the knife and bring it to her.

Serafina Pekkala had directed them to that place, but the stop in Galloway would last shortly before resuming the flight to Stanislaus Grumman. If Lee was certain, Iorek was hesitant "are we sure this Grumman man exists?"

"the witches didn't know anything about it, they just said the knife will be enough to protect her." Iorek grumbled, but said nothing concrete except some muttering to himself. Lee didn't pay much attention to it, as they had already arrived in the small sandy town center. "I'll go and ask where we can refuel. You wait here." And Lee walked away to what looked like an information center. It was a small counter, carved in pine wood perhaps (certainly not the same material as witch cloud pine), yet it was evident that it was weathered and corroded by the rain and snow that had fallen on the town in recent times. Leaning on it a man with a long beard, a sombrero-like hat and fingerless gloves looked around. Oh why not, cheering his day with his stage presence would have been just an honor for that man. Boldly adjusting his hat, Lee put one hand on the counter and the other on his hip, flashing a smile. "good morning to you, kind fellow." only when the man looked up did Lee recognize him, and for a moment he thought he saw a ghost. Every kind of color left his face and the aeronaut gaped at the figure in front of him. " _Benjamin Jones?!_ " Lee exclaimed that name as if he were deaf, but Benjamin was not deaf at all.

Since he had left Texas he had never seen the craftsman who worked a few yards from his home from which he occasionally spent the afternoons to learn more about the trade: as a child Lee had been a decidedly curious child, perhaps too much at times.

He had changed so much since he had last seen him, the signs of age were clear on his face, just as a look of confusion was."who are you?"

Out of respect, Lee took off his hat and placed it on his chest "I'm Lee. Sophie's son! I used to come to your artisan shop every day after plowing the field! "

...

" _Lee Scoresby?"_ The tone of the other did not seem surprised, just incredulous. "I'll be doggoned, boy! I haven't seen you for years!" and those big hands slapped him straight on the shoulder in an affectionate way, the kind of fatherly affection never had from his own father. Jones, in his youth, had been a father figure to him in the same way that he and Iorek were father figures to Lyra; with his natural affection for that rowdy kid with his strong accent that at times made him difficult to understand. But he had been a prominent figure in his childhood of him. The older man slowly rose to hold him in a hug that Lee returned with affection "how long, old boy, how long..." the aeronaut said in a murmur, then broke away to give him an affectionate pat. "How are you? I haven't heard of you since you left! I had no idea you were here!"

"Ah, lemme look at you lil' rascal!" exclaimed the other "you've b'come good at shaving, this mustache suits ya."

"I learned from you, ya know."

And in an instant he felt like he was a sixteen-year-old boy again, his still unstabilized Hester flitting around him like a butterfly, or a filly, or whatever animal would allow them to get to the craft faster. If he had been Benjamin's son, he might not have been an aeronaut by now.

But then he would never know Lyra or Iorek, and as much as he loved Jones ... without those two his life would be empty. "Ben, listen: a friend of mine and I are on the road and we gotta refuel. D'you know where we could recharge a lil' bit an' hit the road again?" He asked, Hester and Ben's dæmon were playing with each other.

"Of course, m'boy! I've been here for twenty years, I know this citadel like the back of my damn hand!"

"While I'm here, lemme introduce you to my friend Iorek." Lee offered.

"this Iorek has a raunchy name, I already like him. Lead the way!"

* * *

From how Lee had described this Iorek, surely Jones would have expected a tall, Scandinavian man with the strength of ten men in one arm, very blond and with flashing dark eyes and threatening brows. And instead Lee had introduced him to a bear. A white bear with heavy armor on, sitting watching him carefully.

After the necessary introductions, Jones had directed them to the nearest shop to refuel, and a place to park the airship. but before they left, Jones took Lee aside and took his back "your old man is here too."

"my-?"

_His old man?_

...

 _No_.

_No, was Jacob here?_

"Pa's here?"

"He's left your ol' house for some time, he's lived here for a couple o' years. He's always askin' about you." An unprecedented rage rose in his chest, giving Jones a fiery look. "Weird, he didn't seem to care about me when he unleashed all hell on me by beating me every day. Trust me, he's a great actor." he spat mercilessly, looking away without looking his old friend in the eye. 

"He'll be happy to see you, Lee ..."

"No."

And in fact, an hour later, there he was knocking on his father's door with the other literally waving his thumbs up from a distance before leaving again. Lee glared at him, but a kick on the ankle from Hester brought him back to good manners, and a muzzle from Iorek gave him strength. His father had opened the door, and immediately from the door Lee could see his western mustache, perfectly outlined and gray in a never disheveled pride and two sardonic frowning eyes that nevertheless looked sulky, now as when he was thirteen.

Jacob P. Scoresby hadn't changed _one_ iota, and a familiar rage took hold of Lee. Or maybe more simply it was the angry heat that emanated from Iorek as soon as Jacob opened his mouth "Look, look who you see in these parts. Have ya finally decided to deign to be there?"

Lee clenched his fists. "Lovely to see you again as always, _Pa_." The _p_ was spat out, literally, growled through clenched teeth right in the face of Jacob and his irritating smile, arms crossed as if he even had the right to make such jokes to a son he had only abused. "Relax, boy. God, are you touchy or what?"

"yes, if you will. I'm quite touchy."

From next to him Iorek could clearly hear how much Lee wanted to turn around and get out of there, how much he wanted to get back on the airship and fly out of that city.

Yet Lee Scoresby was clenching his fists and keeping his chin up like a real fighter, he was putting his weight on that man. He was showing him what he was made of, exactly as Iorek had done with Iofur. He had set his jaw, and had told himself that a warrior never backs down.

Lee wasn't backing away, on the contrary ... he seemed ready to bite him if necessary, such was the quiet fury in his brown eyes. And Iorek felt only pride in him.

Jacob raised his hands in mock surrender "I ask forgiveness, I forgot how sissy you were." he chuckled.

"Oh, do you think you are so funny?"

"Actually, yeah"

Lee advanced, chest out and finger pointed at his father ferociously. "You know what? Old J made me come here, otherwise I would have already sent you to hell long ago!"Jacob crossed his arms again "Yeah? I see that you also brought a stuffed animal behind ya.. ah, Lee, yer the usual crybaby." 

It took Iorek a moment to realize that he meant him for "stuffed animal", and now the man's gaze was looking at the Panserbjørne with contempt. "Tch, is it your bodyguard?"

Iorek lifted his chin "I am he, not an it." he said "Lee Scoresby is able to defend himself perfectly."

"Strange." muttered the older Mr. Scoresby. "He didn't seem so capable at thirteen."

And all of a sudden the aeronaut's face became livid with fury, clenched teeth and panting. Hester tried to murmur comforting words, Iorek turned his head to his friend at hearing him so out of breath, hurt and angry. He had never seen him like this.

Lee was the light of the company, it was a clear sky, a cool breeze ... but that sky was now heavily clouded with dark eyes and high tones similar to the thunder of a storm, heavy breaths like the east wind and moments of silence where lightning prepares to strike.

And the lightning struck. "Oh yeah, 'cause a thirteen year old is perfectly capable of defending himself! Y'know what? Go _fuck_ yourself!" he exclaimed "Just go fuck yourself, you ... you ... idiot! you kind of imbecile with a microscopic brain! Go to hell, you and whoever created you-" but before he could turn and go a hand hit his cheek , and Lee staggered. His gloved hand immediately flew to the offended spot, where a red hematoma was already forming.

"Little _ingrate_!" growled his father, with unprecedented ferocity and malice. "I shoulda sent you back to your Ma's tribe a long time ago, half-blooded bastard." Lee was half Native American on his Mother's side: They had renamed her Sophie, but her name was _Golden Dove._ Although her husband himself did not want her to talk about her tribe, Sophie had taught her son the language of her people by telling him about local stories, their myths and about the chieftain, Lee's grandfather.

Sophie had _never_ beaten him. Not even with a finger, not even by mistake. Indeed, she had several times defended him against his Pa. Lee had often heard her cry and pray at night ... He had always known that his parents' wedding was for convenience, not love. But while Jacob and Sophie "Golden Dove" Scoresby seemed respectful at first, in the last few years before she fell ill it was absolutely a delusion.

After his mother's death, Lee had sent a letter to his maternal grandfather who lived on the Texas prairies with the tribe asking for a place to stay for a while. He and Hester refused to be alone with his father a minute longer. For some time he had stayed with them, and in the ways of his grandparents he had seen his mother again, in the charitable and kind ways of _Thaya_ and _Iyoka_ , his grandfather, distant but loving with him. They had the same nose, Lee had immediately noticed by observing the aquiline profile of the chieftain.

And then he had gone his way, he had won his airship and the rest is history. But just hearing about his mother set his nerves on fire in the worst possible way. "You have _no_ right to speak ill of my mother! You didn't even love her! Why the hell did you marry her, then?!" and he proceeded to stick his index finger repeatedly near his collarbone, without looking away for a moment. "You woulda done well to send me to them!"

"you're a little bastard, that's what you are." snarled Scoresby Senior, advancing towards his son.

"Like father like son is said, right?" Lee growled in turn. And having said that he adjusted his hat and went down the steps "Hester, Iorek, Let's go. I'm done speaking with this man who claims to be my father." he said walking briskly, without even deigning to turn around.

But Iorek didn't deign to move. He kept his paws planted firmly in the ground turning a fiery gaze towards Jacob Scoresby, who watched his son go away with a furious, cold, anaffective and decidedly not paternal look. In an involuntary reflection his mind traveled to his father's austere and slaughtered face.

The former King of Svalbard had _never_ been so violent, either verbally or physically. The culture of the Panserbjørne was different; the slaps Iorek had taken when he was little, which any cub of any generation had received, weren't considered violent, not even remotely.

In human culture, a slap was equivalent to hatred, anger. Every time Iorek had taken a slap from his mother, he hadn't paid much attention to it. But from what Lee had told him, his father beat him so hard that Lee would cry, but the beatings continued until his son apologized enough to make amends for whatever reason had justified the outburst of the day. Those hands had beaten Lee Scoresby.

His blood boiled.

But a bear is patient. He knows when to attack and when to just scare, just as an example of brute force to make it clear who was in charge. Iorek wasn't facing a bear when he walked up the steps with chilling calm under Hester's side gaze, which she pretended not to see. He was facing a human who had hurt someone he cared about.

Jacob Scoresby watched the bear tease, and a drunk or Hanged Iorek would have killed him in the blink of an eye. But this Iorek so sober and bear in all his entirety grabbed, once close, the front piece of Lee's father's shirt and with a dull thud he planted him back on the wall, a sharp gasp came from the man. " **YOU GODDAMN CRAZY BEAST, WHAT THE HELL-"**

"if you dare to throw your anger on Lee scoresby again, it will be then that you will suffer mine. Am I clear? "

There was no answer, just a stunned look and a growl from the man's daemon. "Who do you think you are?!" But Iorek growled in his face, and the honey badger backed away growling in turn. "I'll be the one who'll crash your head into the wall if you don't obey me." and Iorek's voice did not allow for replies as he silenced a riot by slamming Jacob back against the wooden wall.

" _Very_ clear." answered the man, an intrinsic voice of hatred.

"Don't _ever_ get close to Lee Scoresby again." he ordered "or I cannot guarantee you a kind treatment." And having said this, he dropped him badly on the ground, turning and throwing a paw at the daemon who had blocked his way in a decidedly not very delicate way. The honey badger rolled away, hissing against him. In response, Iorek growled before walking away and reaching the center of the city.

Lee was standing to fix the airship, his shoulders were firm and stiff and his hands were shaking slightly. Hester seemed peaceful, almost as if she no longer cared much about Jacob P. Scoresby. And with good reason, since the welcome that had been given them nom had been warm or paternal. You could see that Hester had said "oh you know what? To hell with it, geezer." And if Hester, Lee's soul, was not giving a damn about Jacob, it meant that Lee was getting close to not giving a damn too.

Iorek walked over, brushing Lee's arm with his wet face and looking at him "Are you okay?" he asked him.

The Texan stylishly adjusted his hat "yeah, I'm okay." he said shrugging in a very causal way "I mean .. I'm sorry you had to see his _ridiculous_ hysterical theater, that gnaws at me. But yeah, I'm fine."

Iorek shook his head "you don't have to apologize for that." he ruled severely. Taking off his hair, Lee smoothed his ebony black hair and took a deep breath and then reattached it firmly to his head. "I suppose. All I know now, Iorek, is that I never want to put boot in this town again." he ruled in his turn. "He just made us waste precious time that we could use to find the knife. So now let's take what we need and leave. Do you agree?"

There he was, the Lee Scoresby he knew.

The brave and loyal aeronaut who got up with grace and confidence at every push he was given and who now moved with an agility that only he knew. "Are you ready?"

Iorek couldn't smile, but a spark flashed in his eyes.

"we're both ready."


End file.
